


Behind the Veil

by icebluecyanide



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Afterlife, Coda, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:00:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28097304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icebluecyanide/pseuds/icebluecyanide
Summary: After falling through the veil, Sirius Black finds himself reunited with someone he did not expect to ever see again.
Relationships: Regulus Black & Sirius Black
Comments: 2
Kudos: 75





	Behind the Veil

Sirius threw a hex at Bellatrix, taunting her while he dodged one of the curses meant for him.

“Come on, you can do better than that!”

He laughed. He’d always enjoyed duelling, the thrill of the fight, the rapid back and forth of spells and curses. He felt more alive facing off against his cousin than he’d felt in years.

In the end it was his laughter that doomed him, however. 

He’d thrown his head back to laugh and was just a split second too late to see a red spell flying at him, too fast to block. He didn’t even have time to react before Bella’s spell hit him square in the chest. 

As he felt the spell take effect, he realised he was falling, backwards, toward the veil.

He only managed to form a single thought before the strange cold of the veil overwhelmed him and his world turned black.

_Oh shit_.

Sirius opened his eyes slowly, and as he did so he became aware of a vague feeling of urgency. There was something he had to do, something important, but for the love of all he held dear, he couldn’t remember what. For some reason though, it seemed insignificant now.

It was quiet here. Peaceful. 

A thick mist swirled all around him, making it hard to see. As he stood there, a familiar voice came from behind him.

“Hello Sirius.”

He turned towards the sound. He knew that voice, but with the white mist still obscuring his vision, he couldn’t be sure. Then the figure stepped forward, out of the mist.

He blinked.

“Regulus?”

That wasn’t possible. Regulus was dead, he couldn’t be here unless—

Regulus smiled sadly as he saw Sirius look at his hands. The man hadn't realised it yet, but he had changed. His face, once wasted and ghostly pale after the years in Azkaban, now had the same handsome look as when he had just left Hogwarts. 

“You figured it out already?” asked Regulus.

Sirius turned to him. “I’m... dead, right?”

Regulus nodded slowly. “You died fighting Bella. You were protecting Harry Potter and then you fell through the veil.”

Sirius remembered. Yes, he had been fighting to keep Harry safe. He still felt the strange urge and realised he wanted to defend Harry. The idea didn’t seem so important anymore, though.

“Will you play a game with me?”

Sirius looked up at his brother.

“What game?” he asked quietly. All of the adrenaline of the fight seemed to have disappeared. Instead he felt calm, utterly calm.

Regulus gestured to a chessboard that Sirius only then realised was standing behind the young man. There were two chairs. The game had already begun.

He sat down, with Regulus taking a chair opposite him.

“We never finished this game, remember?” said Regulus. “You ran away before we could.”

“I remember.”

After that, every time he had thought of Regulus, he had remembered the game. They had played quietly, just like now, but never looked each other in the eye. He had been too angry back then.

This time was different. He felt at peace, and looking at his younger brother, so did he.

Regulus looked younger than he had when Sirius last saw him. He still looked eighteen, but all the worry lines, all the masks he had grown accustomed to wearing, were finally gone. His face was relaxed, handsome even, and for the first time in years, Sirius realised how much they looked alike.

Both brothers had black hair that fell in the same elegant way, without any effort on their part. Light grey eyes met their mirror image, both showing emotions that had always been kept hidden. As a smile appeared on Regulus’ face— _when had been the last time he had seen the boy smile?_ —Sirius thought he was looking at his younger self.

He looked down at the board. He was losing, just like that day. 

Regulus had reset the game to the moment his mother had walked in. The moment he had stopped concentrating. After that he had been losing, but the game had never been resolved properly. Instead the chessboard had ended up thrown to the side, the cracked chessmen lying still and broken on the drawing room floor.

He ordered his knight to move forward. The chess pieces were silent here as they moved, with none of the usual suggestions or complaints as they marched across the board.

He glanced up. In this strange place, his emotions seemed dimmed, and he could remember. He remembered all his memories, even the good ones Azkaban stole from him, with perfect clarity. It was these happy memories that finally forced him to break the comfortable silence.

“What is this place?

His brother glanced up at him, then moved one of his pawns.

“This is the world behind the veil.”

Sirius nodded. It made sense, in the dreamlike logic of this place. He had fallen through the veil, so now he was behind it. 

“So, this is where people go after they die? Am I really dead?”

Regulus smiled sadly. “You may try holding your breath, you’ll find you don’t need air anymore. You can no longer feel hunger or even thirst. We are no longer alive, Sirius.”

Sirius didn’t need to try to recognise the truth in his brother’s words. Life, with all it’s vivid emotions, felt far away here. 

Regulus glanced up at him. “I suppose you’ll be wanting to know if your friends are here too?”

He hadn’t thought of it yet, but at his brother’s words, he became aware of a distant longing in his chest. Sirius nodded. “Are they here, James and Lily?”

“Yes. After we’ve finished you can go find them.”

Sirius looked around. The mist was still thick, making it impossible to see something beyond the two of them.

He raised an eyebrow at Regulus. “How?”

His brother smiled. “I’ll show you when we’re done. Don’t think you are getting away from me just yet. It’s your turn.”

Sirius looked back at the board. Regulus was right, there was no rush. There would be time enough to see James and Lily later. For now it was just him and Regulus, the way it had been all those years ago.

After all, they had a game to finish.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments would be very much appreciated!


End file.
